Ranking the top Finals performances from Miami Heat role players
With a total of seven finals appearances, the Miami Heat have a fair share of iconic moments from their franchise stars. We can look back on Dwyane Wade’s all-time great performance against the Dallas Mavericks in 2006, LeBron James’ Game 6 and 7 performance vs the San Antonio Spurs in 2013, and Jimmy Butler’s triple-doubles in Game’s 3 and 5 vs the Lakers in 2020.
While it’s common for the best players to receive the glory and praise, there have also been crucial performances from role players that have contributed to either fight off elimination, clinch a finals win, or take a commanding lead. Let’s highlight some memorable finals performances from Miami Heat role players who deserve their flowers by stepping up when it was needed most.
The top Finals performances by a role player in Miami Heat history.
5. Duncan Robinson, Game 5 of 2020 Finals
After Jimmy Butler’s 40-point triple-double led Miami to a Game 3 win to avoid falling down 3-0, the Miami Heat lost a heartbreaking Game 4 and found themselves in a 3-1 deficit.
During the series, the Heat lost Goran Dragic in Game 1 due to a torn plantar fascia in his left foot. All-Star center Bam Adebayo also strained his neck in Game 1, causing him to miss Game 2 and 3.
To have a shot against the Lakers, someone was going to have to step up and provide Butler with a scoring punch. Leading up to Game 5, Duncan Robinson was not in regular-season form. Robinson was shooting 30% from 3 in the finals (8 for 26), and while the Lakers did a good job of contesting Robinson’s shots, Adebayo being injured affected Robinson as their two-man game led to great looks for Robinson, specifically with the dribble hand-off.
But in a do-or-die scenario, with the Lakers being 3-0 in elimination games and ending each series in five during their playoff run, Robinson shot the lights out and made the Lakers pay every time they lost track of him. Robinson had a stat line of 26 points to go along with seven 3-pointers made, tying Mike Miller for the most 3s made in a game by a Heat player in the NBA Finals.
With most remembering Butler and LeBron trading punches in the fourth quarter, Robinson made some critical plays himself, as he drew a charge on James with 9:05 left in the final period and also hit a 3 at the top of the key to give Miami a 101-99 lead in the closing stages of a very tight battle.
The Heat ended up winning the game, 111-108. While Miami ended up losing the series in Game 6, Robinson’s shooting night was vital and kept Miami alive.
The next player on the list is another sharpshooter who was dealing with shooting and health issues, but managed to put together one of the best nights of his career to help Miami secure a title.